The concept of a garment hanger that includes a label for indicating the size of the garment hung thereon is well-known. One early example of a size-indicating tab is provided in U.S. Pat. No. 3,949,914 issued to Ostroll. The Ostroll patent discloses a tab that is simply snapped on to the hook member of the garment hanger and is easily removable from the hook member of the garment hanger. The problem associated with these types of tabs is that small children may easily remove them from the garment hangers, swallow them and then choke on the tabs. Hence, it became desirable to find a size-indicating tab that was child-proof or at least very difficult to remove once attached to the hanger.
Two examples of size-indicating tabs that are difficult to remove from the hangers are provided in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,096,101 to Norman and 5,119,608 to Zuckerman. The Norman reference includes a tab with two opposing side members with inwardly curved ends. Each side member includes inwardly protruding fingers that engage an arrow-shaped tab-holder disposed on the garment hanger. The capture of the fingers in an enlarged section underneath the base of the arrow-shaped holder precludes an easy removal of the tab from the hanger once in place.
However, the use of the inwardly protruding fingers disposed on the inner surface of either opposing side member creates a tab design that is difficult to mold and therefore difficult to manufacture. The Zuckerman reference also employs a similar design. A generally U-shaped tab with inwardly slanted side walls include two inwardly protruding members or fingers that are captured underneath the base of a ridge. In order to remove the U-shaped tab of Norman or Zuckerman, one would have to grasp the opposing side members and spread them far enough so that the inwardly protruding members or fingers would clear the tab holding section. Both Norman and Zuckerman include protective ribs that prevent even small child-size fingers from obtaining a purchase on the opposing side members and therefore prevent small fingers from grasping and spreading the opposing side members.
While both Norman and Zuckerman provide a substantial advancement to the prior art, two problems still remain. First, the inwardly protruding finger or member disposed in the inner surface of an opposing side member of the tab presents a significant problem in terms of mold design. It would be preferable, and easier to design a tab that has a substantially flat inner surface or at least an inner surface without a projecting part or member. By eliminating the projecting part or finger disposed on the inside surface of the opposing side members, the tabs could also then be provided in a strip or stick form. By providing the tabs in a strip or stick form, the assembly-line worker would have a strip of tabs and could insert them and break them off one at a time. A strip or stick form could also be applied to garment hangers via machine or mechanical device.
It will also be noted that tabs with inwardly projecting fingers or members also require the assembly-line worker to impart undue amounts of twisting and pushing forces in order to install the tab on the garment hanger.
Thus, a need exists for an improved size-indicating tab that is easier for the assembly-line worker to install on a garment hanger and easier to manufacture. The size-indicating tab must also include the non-removable aspects previously known so as to not create a child-safety problem.